The employee health & safety narrative is on the global lips of mining and industry at large. The objective of keeping a business’s most value asset, its personnel, safe and preventing risk of injury or worse, rightfully finds itself on top of most agendas.
April 28, 2022 marks World Day of Safety and Health at Work. For Rand-Air, a rental specialist with a proud safety culture, this is an important day on the calendar. Leading up to the 28th, Rand-Air organised a number of safety and health initiatives for employees which included firefighting and first aid demonstrations as well as events that focused on employee wellbeing.
Triple ISO accredited Rand-Air has been leading the rental market in South and sub-Saharan Africa for close on 50 years. The rental fleet of over 700 machines is supported by a professional, highly skilled team of technicians who deliver unparalleled 24/7 service to customers across the region. Rand-Air has a very good safety record within the Atlas Copco Group and a zero Loss Time Injury (LTI) year-to-date.
Making sure that Rand-Air stays on top of the safety game is SHEQ Manager, Bongani Thobela, ably supported by safety administrator, Lindi Maseko. “Doing everything possible to ensure the safety and health of all our personnel is more than a commitment, we consider it an obligation,” comment Bongani and Lindi.
“Our focus is customer satisfaction through the provision of premium quality, reliable machines backed by outstanding service to assist customers in maximising uptime. By creating a safe workplace for our employees, be it at one of our Rand-Air facilities or at on one of our customer’s sites, enhances productivity, enabling us to deliver optimum customer service. When our field technicians are working at a job site, they have to be aware and respectful of the customer’s safety and health rules at all times. We therefore offer regular SHEQ training courses and refresher programmes to our technicians as well as to office staff.”
In a further bid to keep employees safe, Rand-Air has introduced a special APP. The platform enables employees to immediately report a potential risk, in the office or on-site. Messages are conveyed to the SHEQ office in real time, enabling immediate reaction.
“This APP enables us to be proactive and prevent an injury before it happens,” explains Lindi. “It helps each one of us, from office colleagues to field technicians, to look out for each other and to be more vigilant. After all, safety is everyone’s responsibility.”
Rand-Air’s safety culture also embraces employee wellbeing. “We see a clear correlation between physical and mental well-being and safety,” notes Bongani. “Individuals who feel physically and mentally well will be able to do their job better and safer.” During April, employees were invited to Wellness Wednesdays where they had the opportunity to participate in some wonderful activities that placed the spotlight on mental and physical well-being. “Our head office colleagues were treated to the relaxing experience of a yoga session and head and shoulder massages. Making sure that our Depots were also included, each employee received a World Safety Day Care Box.”
“Our steadfast commitment to health and safety in the workplace is a long-distance journey. Along the way, we will leave no stone unturned in our endeavour to ensure that we are safety compliant on every level. Creating a safe and comfortable work environment enables Rand-Air employees to do their job to the best of their ability, ensuring that we continue to deliver the exceptional service our valued customers have become accustomed to,” conclude Bongani and Lindi.
